The present invention relates to equipment for monitoring the quantity of total dissolved ionized salts in an undiluted sample and, more specifically, to apparatus for measuring the salt content of body urine.
Medical research and laboratory studies definitely show a definable relationship between excess body salts and conditions of overweightness, heart attack and cardiovascular disease. These various body salts are derived from minerals that are ingested in food and water which is eaten and drank. Certain amounts of salts are required to allow for proper body chemistry and function. However, excess salts in the body present a potentially hazardous health condition.
As food and water intake is processed through the body and enters the bloodstream, the reflection of the blood condition is found in the body urine. Urine reveals daily what has been eaten and drank that day and monitoring of a urine sample is one of the significant body functions which may be monitored to determine body salt concentration and thus, the existence of hazardous body-salt conditions.
A common characteristic of all salts is that they form electrolytes due to their ionization characteristics when dissolved in water of which urine is principally composed of. An electrolyte affects the conductivity of water depending upon the ionization characteristics of the particular electrolyte and the quantity of the electrolyte present. Thus, the measure of conductivity of a urine sample is a measure of the electrolytic properties of the sample which, in turn, is a function of the ionization characteristics of the sample as a result of the total dissolved ionized salts in the sample derived from the body.
The concentration or strength of the body salts in the blood and consequently in the urine forming the electrolyte can be measured electronically. The unit of this measurement is called a "Micromho" and is a unit of conductivity. The higher the reading the greater the conductivity and thus, the greater the strength of electrolyte or salt content in the sample.
Medical studies show that the Micromho reading of a normal urine sample should be in the 12,000 range. A reading of 24,000 Micromhos is considered to be in the danger area and at a salt level which is excessive and potentially dangerous to the person.
There are commercially available today meters which measure the salt content of urine. Such meters as heretofore known utilize extremely complex means for generating reference voltages and multiple and further complex stages of amplification to arrive at an electronic signal indicative of the conductivity of the sample and thus, the salt content of the urine. Such meters as these are very complex and delicate in their adjustment and maintenance whereby their use requires a skilled technician. Additionally, their cost is extremely high and generally beyond that which can be afforded by the average user. Further, such prior art devices require the urine to be diluted and the probes platinum plated and wear out quickly.